Title: Role of suprathermal electrons during nanosecond laser energy deposit in fused silica

Abstract

An accurate description of interaction between a nanosecond laser pulse and a wide band gap dielectric, such as fused silica, requires the understanding of energy deposit induced by temperature changes occurring in the material. In order to identify the fundamental processes involved in laser-matter interaction, we have used a 1D computational model that allows us to describe a wide set of physical mechanisms and intended for comparison with specially designed “1D experiments.” We have pointed out that suprathermal electrons are very likely implicated in heat conduction, and this assumption has allowed the model to reproduce the experiments.

@article{osti_22310945,
title = {Role of suprathermal electrons during nanosecond laser energy deposit in fused silica},
author = {Grua, P. and Hébert, D. and Lamaignère, L. and Rullier, J.-L.},
abstractNote = {An accurate description of interaction between a nanosecond laser pulse and a wide band gap dielectric, such as fused silica, requires the understanding of energy deposit induced by temperature changes occurring in the material. In order to identify the fundamental processes involved in laser-matter interaction, we have used a 1D computational model that allows us to describe a wide set of physical mechanisms and intended for comparison with specially designed “1D experiments.” We have pointed out that suprathermal electrons are very likely implicated in heat conduction, and this assumption has allowed the model to reproduce the experiments.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4892886},
journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
number = 8,
volume = 105,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Mon Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}

The temporal evolution and kinetic properties of material particles ejected from the surface of fused silica under nanosecond laser irradiation are investigated using a time-resolved microscope system. The experiments provide information on the particle size, shape, and speed as a function of delay time, as well as on the duration of the material ejection process. The results suggest that the processes involved are much more complex than those predicted by current models.

Historically, the rate at which laser-induced damage sites grow on the exit surface of SiO{sub 2} optics under subsequent illumination with nanosecond-laser pulses of any wavelength was believed to depend solely on laser fluence. We demonstrate here that much of the scatter in previous growth observations was due to additional parameters that were not previously known to affect growth rate, namely the temporal pulse shape and the size of a site. Furthermore, the remaining variability observed in the rate at which sites grow is well described in terms of Weibull statistics. The effects of site size and laser fluence maymore » both be expressed orthogonally in terms of Weibull coefficients. In addition, we employ a clustering algorithm to explore the multiparameter growth space and expose average growth trends. Conversely, this analysis approach also identifies sites likely to exhibit growth rates outside the norm. The ability to identify which sites are likely to grow abnormally fast in advance of the manifestation of such behavior will significantly enhance the accuracy of predictive models over those based on average growth behaviors.« less

Employing a pump-probe polarization-based two-frame shadowgraphy setup, the formation of filamentary damage induced in bulk fused silica by a nanosecond pulse at 1064 nm is investigated with a picosecond probe. Three different phases are exhibited in the damage experiments. The first phase is the formation of a micrometric plasma channel along the laser direction during the beginning of the pulse likely caused by multi-photon ionization. This channel exhibits growth during ∼400 ps, and the newly grown plasma is discrete. Then, during the end of the pulse, this channel evolves into a tadpole-like morphology showing an elliptical head upstream the laser fluxmore » followed by a thin tail. This observed asymmetry is attributed to shielding effects caused by both the plasma and hot modified silica. Once the damage shows its almost final morphology, a last phase consists in the launch of a pressure wave enlarging it after the laser pulse. The physical mechanisms that might be involved in the formation of plasma channels are discussed. The experimental data are first confronted to the moving breakdown model which overestimates the filamentary damage length. Finally, taking into account the temporal shape of the laser pulses, the coupling between Kerr-induced self-focusing and stimulated Brillouin scattering is discussed to interpret the observations.« less

The formation of conical emission of supercontinuum during filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses with central wavelengths in a wide range is studied experimentally, numerically, and analytically. The frequency-angular intensity distribution of the spectral components of conical emission is determined by the interference of supercontinuum emission in a filament of a femtosecond laser pulse. The interference of supercontinuum emission has a general character, exists at different regimes of group velocity dispersion, gives rise to the fine spectral structure after the pulse splitting into subpulses and the formation of a distributed supercontinuum source in an extended filament, and causes the decomposition ofmore » the continuous spectrum of conical emission into many high-contrast maxima after pulse refocusing in the filament. In spectroscopic studies with a tunable femtosecond radiation source based on a TOPAS parametric amplifier, we used an original scheme with a wedge fused silica sample. Numerical simulations have been performed using a system of equations of nonlinear-optical interaction of laser radiation under conditions of diffraction, wave nonstationarity, and material dispersion in fused silica. The analytic study is based on the interference model of formation of conical emission by supercontinuum sources moving in a filament.« less

Femtosecond laser irradiation has various noticeable effects on fused silica. Of particular interest, pulses with energy levels below the ablation threshold can locally increase the refractive index and the material etching selectivity to hydrofluoric acid. The mechanism responsible for these effects is not yet fully understood. In this letter, the authors report on local thermal conductivity mapping of laser-affected zones. It is found that these zones exhibit a lower thermal conductivity at room temperature.